Campaign 2012

Rice, Haley Among Speakers at the Republican Convention

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., top the list of featured speakers at the Republican National Convention later this month, the Tampa Bay Timesreported.

Among the other “brightest stars” of the party, as RNC Chairman Reince Priebus described them, are Florida Gov. Rick Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

“Ours will be a world-class convention, worthy of the next president of the United States, and these speakers — and those that will be announced later — will help make it a truly memorable and momentous event,” Priebus told the Times.

Specific times for the speeches were not announced.

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For Scott, this will be the most public role in the 2012 campaign so far.

“The Republican National Convention comes at a critical time for determining America's future,” Scott told the Times. “Mitt Romney knows that it is the hard-working people of America who build businesses and create jobs — not the government. We share that same belief here in Florida where we continue our progress in helping to create jobs by moving government out of the way of our businesses.”

Several people reportedly on Mitt Romney’s short list for a running mate did not yet make the list of convention speakers, including Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

The keynote speaker has yet to be named, but some reports indicate that it could be New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The convention will take place in Tampa from August 27 to August 30.